Transcript Characteristics of Living Things

Mrs. Stevenson
Characteristics & Needs of Living Things
Chemistry of Living Things
Living or Non-Living? How do you know?
Gummy Worms
Earthworms
Warm Up:
Living Things Respond to their Environment
Stimulus
You forget to use a potholder, and
touch the hot handle of a pan on
the stove.
Your parents turn on a light in the
morning to wake you.
Your dog sees a cat.
A fly lands on a venus flytrap.
Mrs. Stevenson comes into the
classroom.
Response
Characteristics of Living Things
1. Made of Cells:
 All living things are composed of one or more cells.
 Cell – membrane-covered structure that contains all of
the materials necessary for life
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Unicellular - uni = one; made of one cell
 Different cell parts within the cell perform different functions
Multicellular – multi = many; made of many cells
 Different cells have specialized functions
Characteristics of Living Things
2. Respond to changes in the environment:
 Sense change in the environment & respond
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Stimulus - anything that causes a reaction or change in an
organism
 Ex: gravity, light, heat, hunger
Response – the reaction to a stimulus
 Homeostasis - the maintenance of a constant internal
state in a changing environment

Ex: Body temperature
Hot = sweating
Cold = shivering
Characteristics of Living Things
3. Reproduce:
– Living things make other living things similar to
themselves.
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Sexual reproduction – reproduction in which the sex cells
from two parents unite, producing offspring that share traits
from both parents.
– 2 parents
– Most plants & animals
Asexual reproduction - reproduction that does not involve
the union of sex cells and in which one parent produces
offspring identical to itself.
– A parent (1 parent)
– Most unicellular organisms
Characteristics of Living Things
4. Have DNA
 The cells of all living things contain DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid).
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DNA controls the structure & function of cells
Pass DNA to offspring during reproduction
Heredity – the passing of traits from one generation to the
next
Characteristics of Living Things
5. Use Energy:
– Organisms use energy to carry out the activities of life.
•
Ex: making food, moving materials into & out of cells,
making new cells
– Metabolism – the sum of all chemical processes that
occur in an organism
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ingestion – taking in food
Digestion – breaking down food so that it can be used
Respiration – adding oxygen to release energy in food
Excretion – getting rid of wastes
Characteristics of Living Things
6. Grow & Develop:
 Growth

Get larger
 Develop
 Become more
complex
Activating Prior Knowledge
 What does this bird need in order to survive in its
habitat?
Activating Prior Knowledge
 Are these the same “needs” that this polar bear has?
Or this saguaro cactus?
Needs of Living Things
1.
Water:
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Living things are made up of approximately 70% water
Most chemical reactions (ex: metabolism) require
water
Needs of Living Things
2. Air:
 A mixture of several gases, including oxygen and
carbon dioxide
 Oxygen is used to release the energy in food

Cellular respiration
 Not every living thing needs oxygen
 Anaerobic
 an = without
aero = air
Needs of Living Things
3.
Living space:
 All organisms need a place to live that
contains all of the things they need to
survive.
Space on Earth is limited
 Leads to competition for space

Needs of Living Things
4. Food:
– All living things need food for energy.
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•
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The SUN is the primary source of energy for living things!
Producers – organisms that can make their own food by
using energy from their surroundings
– aka: Autotroph
Consumers – organisms that eat other organisms or organic
matter
– aka: Heterotroph
Decomposers – organisms that get their food by breaking
down the nutrients in dead organisms or animal wastes
Summarizing Activity:
Characteristics & Needs of Georgia’s Animals
 In your groups, create a poster that illustrates:
 The 3 characteristics of your assigned organism
 The habitat of your organism with 3 of the needs of
living things that were discussed in this presentation
 The laptop computers are available if you need to look
up information about your organism.
 http://georgiawildlife.com/conservation/georgia-
animals-plants#Common_Animals
Warm up –
You are what you eat!
 With your elbow partner,
talk about the information
on this nutrition label.
 What does all of this
information mean?
 How would this food (a
potato) benefit the
consumer?
Chemistry of Life
 All matter (living & nonliving) is made of elements.
 The basic unit of an element is the atom.
 Elements found in living things include (CHNOPS):
 Carbon
 Hydrogen
 Nitrogen
 Oxygen
 Phosphorus
 Sulphur
What do elements have to do with
cells?
 Elements combine to form compounds.
◦ The basic unit is the molecule.
The Compounds of Life
 Living things are made of organic & inorganic
compounds.
 Organic:
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Proteins
Carbohydrates
Lipids (fats)
Nucleic acids
All contain CARBON …
Living things are carbon-based
 Inorganic: - usually do NOT contain carbon
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Carbon dioxide – CO2 (exception to the rule!)
Water – H2O
Salt - NaCl
So…
 The basic unit of matter is an ATOM, but the basic
unit of life is the CELL.
Proteins
 Proteins are large molecules made of smaller molecules called
amino acids.
 Made of:
◦ Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen
 Foods high in protein:
◦ Meat, eggs, fish, nuts & beans
 Used for:
◦ Building structures
◦ Growth & repair
 Enzymes – types of proteins that speed up chemical reactions in
living things.
◦ Ex: saliva
Carbohydrates
 Made of:
◦ Carbon
◦ Hydrogen
◦ Oxygen
 Ex: sugars & starches
 Food:
◦ Fruits & veggies & grains
 Used for:
◦ Provides energy
 Found in the cell wall (cellulose) & cell membrane
Lipids
 Made of:
 Carbon
 Hydrogen
 Oxygen
 Ex: fats, oils & waxes
 Cells store the energy in lipids for later use.
Nucleic acids
 Made of:
◦ Carbon
◦ Oxygen
◦ Hydrogen
◦ Nitrogen
◦ Phosphorus
 Contain the instructions that cells need to carry out life
functions.
 DNA (genetic material) & RNA (production of proteins)